Benjamin Netanyahu backs ban on mosques using loudspeakers

Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused of deliberately antagonising Israel's
substantial Muslim minority by backing a controversial bill to ban mosques
from using loudspeakers to issue the call to prayer.

Mr Netanyahu's support for the measure has prompted a backlash from grandees within his Likud partyPhoto: GETTY

The Israeli prime minister justified his support for the proposal by insisting that he saw no reason for his country to be "more liberal" than European states who, he claimed, had imposed similar restrictions.

The bill, introduced by a backbencher from the Israel Beitenu, a hardline party within Mr Netanyahu's right-wing ruling coalition, calls for a ban on the use of loudspeakers in all places of worship.

But because only mosques use them, critics have decried the move as the latest attempt by Israel's parliament, the Knesset, to discriminate against the country's Arab minority, which makes up a fifth of the population.

Anastasia Michaeli, the author of the bill, claimed that her motivation was purely "environmental". She pointed to Knesset research, which concluded that prolonged exposure to the call to the prayer caused hearing damage, loss of self-esteem, gastrointestinal disorders and "general problems in everyday functionality".

Mr Netanyahu's support for the measure has prompted a backlash from grandees within his Likud party, forcing him to delay the bill's introduction. But he promised to make a second attempt within weeks.

"The same problem exists in all European countries and they know how to deal with it," he said. "It's legitimate in Belgium, it's legitimate in France. Why isn't it legitimate here? We don't need to be more liberal than Europe."

A number of European states have anti-noise laws, but in most cases they do not specifically target mosques. Israel passed similar legislation last year, making the new bill redundant, according to Limor Livnat, a Likud cabinet minister.

"Netanyahu's claims have no credence whatsoever,” the Muslim Council of Britain said in a statement. “Many mosques across the UK and Europe are broadcasting the Adhan (call to prayer), from large ones in capital cities like London to ones in small towns like Dewsbury, Leicester, Birmingham and Bradford. As far as we know, most, if not all, European countries allow the Adhan to be performed in their country. The only country that legislated to ban Minaret (not Adhaan) is Switzerland. Local authorities may have imposed restrictions on a case by case basis.”

Critics of the bill also argued that Israel, as a Middle Eastern state, had to take into account different realities to Europe. With a much larger population of indigenous rather than immigrant Muslims, the call to prayer was part of the country's fabric, and any attempt to ban it would represent an attack on Islam, they said.

"The MK (member of the Knesset) proposing the bill wants to combat religion," said Michael Eitan, another cabinet minister. "I met with her and she tried selling it to me as an environmental law. I said to her: 'look me in the eyes. You are not interested in the environment, but in Islam.'"

Any attempt to enforce the law, particularly in Arab East Jerusalem, is likely to be fiercely resisted. Ahmad Tibi, an Israeli Arab legislator, condemned the proposal as "delusional and ridiculous".

The Knesset has already drawn criticism for passing a bill effectively allowing Jewish communities to exclude Arabs. It is considering a second to strip Arabic as one of Israel's official languages.